


Petrichor

by perniciousLizard



Series: Fired Up and Bone Weary [15]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 17:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7183124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perniciousLizard/pseuds/perniciousLizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a long time since the last rain.  Grillby's taking it a little too well.  </p>
<p><b>pet·ri·chor: </b><br/>a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petrichor

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: sans/grillby, petrichor
> 
> Thank you, [cardasssian](http://cardasssian.tumblr.com/), for this prompt!

The constant dry, persistent heat kept people walking right past Grillby’s door.  Some of the regulars even started grabbing lunch at places where the air conditioning wasn’t overshadowed by the owner’s natural warmth.  

Grillby seemed to be enjoying the break.  Sans thought that was all it was, at first; just that he was a little less rushed and had a little more time to keep himself organized.  Grillby had a chance to get to know the customers who did trickle in, and maybe there was a little nostalgia for Snowdin mixed up in his reaction.  

The heat didn’t bother Sans.   _Tibia_ honest, that was one of the great things about being a skeleton, other than all the amazing jokes he could make.  

Grillby waved him over as soon as he walked in the door.  Sans was the only one there.

“hey, is it hot in here, or is it just you?” Sans asked.  Grillby seemed…taller to him, lately?  It was tough to tell, when you were short.  Everyone was just different degrees of bigger than him. Grillby also varied a bit, which was pretty normal for a fire monster.  

Grillby leaned forward when Sans hopped up onto his bar stool and gave him a warm kiss near where Sans’ ear would be if he had them.  

“doesn’t look like the empty bar’s cooled down your mood, at least,” Sans said. 

Grillby shrugged.  "A few weeks of slow business in the summer is not that unusual.  I was thinking of closing down for today.  ...it might be dangerous in here for any customers with skin.“  

"crank up the air conditioning.”  

“It doesn’t make enough of a difference.”  

“sure. but cook me something, first.  you can’t close the bar on your best customer.”  

“Is that what you are?  Hm.  How about I close the bar, and make you something anyway?”  

“you’re in a good mood.”  

Grillby gave him another kiss, right out in public where anyone could walk in and see them.  The heat shouldn’t affect Sans, but he was still starting to feel warm.  He fanned himself with a napkin while Grillby worked to close things up.  

Sometimes, Grillby’s flames seem to climb high enough to touch the ceiling.  He’d unbuttoned his collar and fire curled out of the front of his shirt, his clothes barely containing him.  He wasn’t wearing his _tie_.  

Grillby came back over and leaned in, about an inch from Sans’ face.  "What would you like?" he asked.  His hand was a light weight on Sans’ shoulder.  

"uh.  just my usual.  unless, since you’re done here, you want to hit the bowling alley and get their fries.”  

He shook his head.  "I will just ruin it for anyone else there."

"you can’t tone it down?”

He sighed.  Sans was pretty sure anything plastic he had in his pockets was melting.  

“I could.  I don’t want to.”  His hand slid down Sans’ arm, resting on his skeletal fingers.  Sans noticed that his shoulder was on fire, but Grillby glared at it and the flames settled down, leaving a small black scorch mark on Sans’ t-shirt.  "Maybe I should."

"pulled this shirt out of the trash, anyway,” Sans said.  "not a big deal.“  

Grillby took Sans’ other hand, too, and then leaned in to press another kiss against Sans’ forehead.  "Maybe you should just take it off, then.”

Sans reacted to that with silence, and then started snickering.  "what’s this mood, grillbz?"  Oh.  It was the drought.  Of course a lot of heat and dry air would put him in a good mood.  The last time they’d gone out, Grillby hadn’t even bothered to carry an umbrella.  

Grillby sighed.  "I’ll make your lunch.”  He didn’t immediately move away.  

“can’t get my shirt off with you hanging onto me,” Sans pointed out.  

That did it.  He was left alone for a minute while Grillby went into the kitchen.  Sans pulled his shirt off.  There was barely a mark on it from the little fire, and it wasn’t like there weren’t other stains.  He’d keep it.  But if someone wanted to look at his bare rib bones, then who was Sans to deny them?  

“I was actually joking,” Grillby said.  He was carrying a plate with a steaming hot burg and fries, and a fresh bottle of ketchup.  

“ok.”

Grillby seemed to have brought himself back under control.  He’d buttoned up again, unfortunately.  He looked embarrassed.  Sans was positive Grillbz hadn’t been joking.  The guy was an easy read, once you got to know him.  

Sans started eating and Grillby went to grab something for himself.  By the time Grillby came back he _almost_ looked back to normal.  The exposed flames of his hands and head still seemed to reach at things as he passed them, trying to latch on and burn the whole place down.

“so, you’re enjoying the drought, huh?” Sans said, through a mouth full of fries. 

“Of course not.” Grillby wasn’t looking at him.  

“it’s not like it’ll last forever, so why not?”

“It would be inappropriate.”  

“‘cause everyone else is having a bad time?  nah.  you know the dogs get excited after a blizzard, and those are sure a pain in the tailbone.  anyway, none of this bugs me one way or the other.”  He winked. “so you can tell me.  it’ll be our secret.”  

“Well, I can admit I don’t really like when it rains,” Grillby said.  

“no kidding.”  

“But everyone else needs the water.”

“sure. nice not having to worry about acid randomly falling from the sky, though, for a little while.”  

“Yes. And the heat, and the dry air…”  

“feels good.  got it.”

“But…”

“nah.”  Sans dismissed his protest.  They were predicting rain in a few days, anyway, so they should enjoy the weather while it lasted.  “since you’ve got all that energy, let’s go someplace.”  He glanced around.  "someplace outdoors.“  

Grillby nodded.  

They went to Grillby’s place, first, and packed up an enormous amount of food to take with them.  Apparently Grillby was extra hungry along with everything else going on with him.  

Right before Sans took them on a shortcut, Grillby grabbed an umbrella and shoved it in the bag.  Sans thought maybe he’d had a few experiences when he first got to the surface that he didn’t want to repeat.

"hey,” Sans said, grabbing Grillby’s arm.  "you know if you ever get stuck somewhere you can give me a call and i’ll pick you up."

Grillby looked down at him.  He didn’t say anything.

Sans shrugged.  "let’s go.”  

He took them to a quiet, isolated spot where small amounts of light filtered through the trees.  The ground they set their blanket on was dry and hard, but not hard enough to keep Sans from nodding off.  Even shaded the heat would have been oppressive for people with skin, and the light breeze did little to cool the air.  It blew through Sans’ bare ribcage and made him remember he’d left his shirt back at Grillby’s.  

“what'dya think?” Sans asked.  He was using Grillby’s lap as a pillow and watching him slowly work through the food.  

“Of what?”

Sans expansively gestured at the forest around them.  "nice, right?"

Grillby looked around.  "Can I tell you something?  And you won’t mention it to anyone else?”

“if i had lips, i’d seal 'em,” Sans said.  "what’s up?"

"There is a small part of me, Sans, that would like to feel the whole place burn down.”  He looked around, his expression suddenly as unreadable as the first time they had met.  

Sans coughed.  "welp."  He watched Grillby slowly pull a handful of chips out of a bag and eat them, his glasses pointed at the trees. "that’s…probably pretty normal.”  

“Hm.”  He looked down at Sans.  "I wouldn’t do it."

"'course not.”  

“If there was a fire, I would even stop it.”  

“i’ve got plenty of bad impulses i don’t act on,” Sans said.  "i get it.“  

"Yes?”

“yeah.”

Grillby was waiting for him to explain.  Grillby was good at being quiet, and waiting. 

“i dunno.  before paps learned to cook, i used to want to just toss his spaghetti in the garbage.  if you tell him i said that, i’ll deny it.”

Grillby nodded.  

“uh, sometimes when things get too heavy i’ll think about just going somewhere.  and not coming back.  it’d be pretty easy to make sure no one found me.”

“I don’t like that one.”

“me neither, pal.”  He sat up, and stretched.  "hey, let’s talk about anything else."  

Grillby held out the chip bag for him, and Sans gratefully took some.  

"I don’t feel like talking,” Grillby said.  He emptied the last of the bag and set it aside.

“yeah, all right.”  

Grillby pulled Sans against him.  The smell of smoke was overpowering.  

–

Sans woke abruptly to the sound of his ringtone.  He almost fell off the mattress trying to get the noise to stop.  

His phone was lit up with a photo of Grillby wearing a pair of cat ears and looking annoyed.  It wasn’t strange that Grillby was up at four in the morning, but it _was_ weird for him to actually call instead of texting.  

“hwhazzit,” Sans said.  He lay the phone by his head and closed his eyes against the bright light.  

“…did I wake you?”  Grillby could be a little tough to understand on the phone, but Sans got the gist of it.

“odds'r pretty good,” Sans said.  The air felt thickly humid.  He tried to lift his skull up off the bed, but it was too heavy.  

“…I’m sorry.  You said that if I was ever stuck anywhere, you would pick me up.”

“huh?” That was a week ago, so of course he remembered.  He just hadn’t actually expected Grillby to act on it, ever.  "ok."  He rubbed his forehead.  "ok, where are you?”  

“…I’m just at the 24-hour grocery store.”

That place was walking distance from Grillby’s, so he wouldn’t have gotten a ride.  Grillby could call a taxi, but Sans had said he’d help.  The phone made it difficult enough to understand the words Grillby was saying without trying to read any intent or emotion in his voice.  

“ok,” Sans said.  He rolled out of bed and went over to the window.  He could hear a steady rain pouring down outside and see water falling over the edge of their clogged gutters.  He opened the window and the smell of rain hit him, hard.  

Even with an umbrella, Grillby wasn’t avoiding getting wet in this.  Even just walking to a taxi.  

Sans pulled on a bathrobe and some slippers and took a shortcut.  

Grillby was waiting just inside the store’s glass doors.  He had on a long coat and was carrying an umbrella and a small bag of groceries.  He looked smaller than he had yesterday.  

“I’m sorry,” Grillby said.

“nah.”

“I could have managed.”

“glad you didn’t.  come on,” Sans said.  He put his hand on Grillby’s arm and took him home.  


End file.
